


Winter Travel

by shieldivarius



Series: Femslash Yuletide 2013 [14]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash Yuletide, Fluff, Prompt: Winter Travel, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 13:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1094401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shieldivarius/pseuds/shieldivarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha arranges a surprise vacation for herself and Melinda.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter Travel

Natasha had hidden the ticket in one of the drawers of Melinda’s desk before she’d left, and she hoped beyond hope that her partner would actually find them before the date and time of the flight had passed. It wasn’t that she’d put it in a drawer Melinda didn’t use often, but she’d only reflected later, when she was halfway across the Pacific Ocean and couldn’t do anything to change her actions, that it might have been better to leave the envelope standing in her keyboard instead of hiding it, bow and all.

A stupid worry, but Natasha wanted to make sure her surprise didn’t go by the wayside, and she hadn’t wanted to present the ticket to Melinda in person because that would have lead to questions Natasha technically wasn’t allowed to answer, and that Melinda technically wasn’t allowed to ask.

So she’d hidden them, and she’d gone on her op, and now she sat at the international airport in Sydney, hoping that Melinda had found the ticket. And that she had realized what the ticket meant and actually gotten on the plane.

So many problems that Natasha could have solved with a single phone call. But, well, too late now. Melinda’s flight was on the arrivals board as being on the tarmac now, and if Melinda wasn’t on it, that would be that.

Natasha’s phone rang, and she glanced down at it and smiled.

“Hi,” she greeted. 

“You _are_ in Sydney, right?” Melinda asked, and Natasha amused herself for a moment by imagining the expressions on the faces of the people around her at the question.

“I am,” she said, looking outside at the bright, warm sun. It made for a drastic, welcome difference from the awful winter weather that had been hitting New York when she’d left.

“Good,” Melinda said, and the phone clicked off. Natasha laughed, taking a sip of her coffee and stretching out on the bench, waiting for Melinda to come through customs.

Twenty minutes later, people who were dressed in inter-climate travel chic—both too heavy for the Australian weather and too light for New York’s weather—started coming through the gate. Natasha waved when she spied Melinda through the crowd, looking harried by the commercial travelling and happy to have her own space.

“Florida’s warm, too,” she said by way of greeting. 

Natasha grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into a hug, which Melinda parted from with both eyebrows raised, but not before she folded Natasha against her and held her tight. “Alright?” she asked, reaching out and touching the bruise barely visible at Natasha’s hairline. “Bad op?”

“It was fine,” she said. “Everything went as planned.”

Public displays of affection weren’t usual for them, but Melinda went up on her toes, and Natasha bowed her head a bit as she kissed the bruise. 

“I want to hear about it. And after that flight, you’d better have booked us a hotel. With a spa.” She might’ve been playing up her annoyance with the flight, now that she was on the ground again, but international travel for pleasure wasn’t something either of them did often, and Natasha couldn’t blame her for feeling less than jovial about it. 

“Would I make you settle for anything less?” Natasha asked, nodding toward the exit. 

Melinda followed her to the rental car, shucked her jacket in the back as soon as they got into the sun, and climbed into the passenger seat. She was asleep before they’d exited the airport.

 

The hotel had a beautiful view of the bay, and Natasha could sense Melinda’s suspicion, tangible and pressing against her as she stared at the back of Natasha’s head.

“I went into my savings, this is a gift, you’re not paying for any of it,” Natasha said without turning around. Their room overlooked the pool, which, being outside, had the same view as their room. “Let’s go swimming.”

“Natasha, your savings…”

Natasha turned and frowned at her, knowing that she wore a dark expression and not fighting to control it like she usually would. “Came from doing things I’m not proud of, Melinda. I can at least use them for something that makes me feel better about having the money.”

Melinda sighed, crossed the room and pressed Natasha back against the window. She kissed her forehead. “Thank you for the gift,” she said in a heavy, serious voice. “And I am going to buy us dinner.”

Natasha smiled and nodded, a quick bow of her head, accepting that. “Alright.”

 

They spent another three days in Sydney, before Natasha reached the next part of the itinerary, and rented them a car and drove them up to Brisbane. There they spent time on the beaches of the Gold Coast, enjoying watching the surfers while placing friendly bets with sexual favours on how long each was going to last before they tumbled into the water. By the end of the second afternoon, Natasha was fulfilling the lost end of a bet by trying surfing herself.

Melinda spent a lot of time that evening lavishing attention on the raised bruise that came up on her thigh from hitting the board too hard and at the wrong angle on the way down.

 

“Thank you,” Melinda said on the last night before they had to fly back home, because Natasha hadn’t been able to convince Coulson to find a way to get Melinda any more days off. They were both tan from spending nearly two weeks in the sun, and spending the last evening in a little seafood restaurant near the beach. The sun had long set and the lights in the restaurant were low, the tea light candle on their table burning happily in its holder. 

Natasha smiled at her, feeling light and happy and separate from the world here, in love and normal, like she thought the couple a few tables over must feel all the time. The illusion would break when they got back to their real lives, but for now it was nice.

Natasha reached across the table and cupped Melinda’s hand in her own, twining their fingers together. “Thank you,” she echoed, and Melinda looked down at her wine glass and then to their hands, running her thumb over Natasha’s fingers before she lifted Natasha’s hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

“I love you,” they murmured, as one, and both laughed, looking away and rolling eyes at how corny they were being. Their hands rested back on the table, and they sat there, drinking wine and hardly talking, enjoying each other’s presence, for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> http://shieldivarius.tumblr.com


End file.
